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Assassins Creed III has been a long anticipated title, breaking from the story of Ezio Auditore with a new character, Connor. However Connor is not the spotlight of this trailer- instead, the trailer revolves around the familiar, yet enigmatic Desmond Miles, who has been given renewed value in the story, as Desmond must use the skills he has gained from his ancestors to make his way through the great vault and save humanity.

What do you make of the trailer? Do you think Desmond should not be given as much emphasis in the story, or more? Tell us what you think in the comment section bellow.

“Eu sunt Dracul!” – Dracula (Gabriel Belmont) at the end of Castlevania: Lord of Shadows

These words, while cloaked in a foreign tongue, successfully shocked most fans of the Castlevania saga, as they watched the last clip in the hit game Castlevania: Lord of Shadows. This statement revealed the exact nature of the bond between Clan Belmonte and the legendary vampiric lord, Dracula. While gamers had to buy a DLC to find out precisely how Gabriel took up the way of the vampire, the producers of the Lord of Shadows saga were nice enough to have a video at the end of the castlevania credits, foreshadowing what gamers could expect in the future.

Now I personally loved the Lord of Shadows game, though prior to that, I never played any Castlevania games. I thought the graphics were sweet, the story was compelling and the game play was balling, though after I beat it I was curious about the background of the game. When I found out how many previous Castlevanias there were, and how the new one basically had nothing to do with the predecessors, save for using the Belmont name and the Brotherhood of Light, I was all like “WTF”…at least until they released the DLC and I connected the dots, though I still wanted more- the lack of continuity bugged me, and I was hoping for a game to make the connection clearer in the future…

Well…that future has come, as Castlevania Lord of Shadows 2 was revealed at E3 2012.

“In Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, the origin of Dracula and his legendary connection with the Belmonts was revealed. In Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2, fans can expect thrilling new twists and challenges. In this shocking conclusion to the Lords of Shadow saga, Dracula returns once again, weakened and yearning for release from his immortal bonds. Facing a new and powerful threat, the vampire lord must reacquire his old powers – and only his castle holds the key. However, the famed Belmont clan also seek his ultimate destruction.” – Castlevania Lord of Shadows Website

There was initially some skepticism about the validity of the first game when run across the fan-lore of the long established Castlevania series, however with the twisting revelation of Gabriel’s ascension/fall to the form of Dracula has closed the gap that bridged the fans of the original saga and the newer Lord of Shadows series. Accompanied with the Nintendo DS sister game Castlevania Lord of Shadows: Mirror of Fate, which tells the story of Gabriel’s battle against his son, Trevor, and the beginning of the war between Dracula and the Brotherhood of Light, Konami has given the Castlevania series the potential for a successful revitalization.

But I try not to count my chickens before they hatch, and I am tentative on how good the second game may be. It has a flashy trailer, I will give it that.

Now, if I get to play with Gab-I mean Dracula, using those sick powers, count me in. The fire whip is sweet! Will the game be as awesome as its predecessors? Only time will tell…but one thing is for sure…

I want that fire whip…NOW!

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Hey guys and gals, I hope that you enjoyed this article; sorry about the gap between this one and the last one. Things have been hectic but I hope to be able to post more in the future. Feel free to leave comments of your thoughts below and remember to like the post, follow the blog and our twitter (@TheNerdNexus) for further updates. And remember to Like us on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/TheNerdNexus)

Elderscrolls V: Skyrim has torn through gaming competition with unrelenting force (see what I did there?), raising through the ranks to the top games of the year. While successful on both the console and PC systems, most gamers will attest to the benefits of the PC version, as it has the advantage of cool mods. Well the developers of Bethesda decided to throw a treat for us console gamers, and took a few notes from the books of PC modders.

Prior to the release of ‘Dawnguard‘, the first major downloadable content (DLC) package of Skyrim, the brains of Bethesda told the press that they were watching the developement of unique mods in the public gaming sphere, and implementing particularly special ones in their new DLCs. With Dawnguard was saw a mounted combat system implemented along with some other goodies. Not soon there after, the gaming community caught wind of the title of Skyrim’s next DLC- ‘Hearthfire’.

Many assumptions emerged on the internet about the exact nature of this DLC. Some thought that it was about the month Heart Fire, which has an annual Necromancy festival known as the Tales and Tallows holiday. While these rumors have not been disproved, an official trailer has been released which doesn’t deal with zombies.

So I present to you the Hearthfire Trailer:

No zombies to be seen there…nope. Instead, we get to build a house…YAY!

Now I will admit, compared to the epicness of Dawnguard’s vampiric quests, Hearthfire seems rather anti-climactic, but I believe the add on has some merits to it. I can’t be the only player that wants to build his own fortress of solitute (Not to be mistaken with the Blue Palace of Solitude). I have always enjoyed the opportunity to build something that is unique to the character, and this mod gives players the ability to do so. Along with expanding the obvious, the mod also expands the social functions of skyrim, allowing our Dovakiin to build his own family, some what akin to Fable 2‘s implementation of families with children.

To bring it back to my previous statement of Bethesda creeping on mods, I believe Hearthfire is based on the mod ‘Build your own Home‘ by ‘SuperNastyPants’ made a few months back, allowing players to build their own house (with less customization options). Bethesda even uses the systems established by SNP with the work bench to convert raw materials.

Taking this already awesome idea, and molding it with the expertise of the Skyrim team gives it that much more appeal and potential. What kind of home will you make? A rustic cabin in the woods? A palace in the plains? A dungeon in the marshes? That is up to you! Look out for the DLC on September 4th.

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Hey guys and gals, I hope that you enjoyed this article; feel free to leave comments of your thoughts below and remember to like the post, follow the blog and our twitter (@TheNerdNexus) for further updates. And remember to Like us on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/TheNerdNexus)

Have you been keeping up with the new Darksiders II reviews and updates? Still uncertain about whether you should dish out the dough to buy the game? Check out this Youtube channel that has a walk through of the game. Maybe you will make a decision once you see the game in action.

GTA V‘s viral marketing campaign has begun, sparking gamers’ interest in Rockstar’s newest edition to the Grand Theft Auto family. GTA V, as we know from the commercial, takes place in San Andreas, which was considered as one of the most entertaining GTA games by many fans. As a complete opposite to GTA IV’s liberty city, San Andreas is a sprawling map offering numerous environments, ranging from city centers to beaches to forests.

Anyway, while reading up on GTA V I stumbled upon a youtube video which led me to an article from Gameranx.com. This article states the following.

“A poster claiming to be a games journalist for “a Playstation magazine in the UK” (presumably PSM3) has professed, on the GTA Forums, to having privileged information about the game. He says that magazine staff experienced 30 minutes of Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto V at the developer’s Scotland offices.

It should be noted that everything below is rumor, subject to absolutely no validation whatsoever. Some of the things he writes do make sense, however, and should make for interesting discussion.” (Gameranx- Rumor: Exclusive GTA 5 Info leaked by Rogue Games journalist).

I would like to state the same thing as the Gameranx author. This leak is not confirmed. It has not been acknowledged by GTA V’s production team, and as such, should be taken with a grain of salt. Even so, the potential perks of GTA 5 are too tantalizing to ignore, so here you have it.

Leaked information on Grand Theft Auto V

1: The game world is absolutely massive and will push both xbox and PS3 to the very limit in terms of what it has accomplished. Yes, the main city is simply Los Santos however is it AT LEAST 4 times bigger than Liberty City in GTA 4 and that is just Los Santos. The surrounding country side, beaches, etc are massive. For instance, we saw the main character ( an African/American, early 30’s) travel by car from the center of Los Santos into the wildnerness and it took over 15 minutes. The views were incredible from farmhouses with cattle, huge wind farms, an oil refinery which appeared to be living and breathing with nearly 100 NPCs working on machinery, operating vehicles, lifting and loaded, etc, unlike the gas works in GTA 4 which seemed to only house a few NPC at a time. The forests are more beautiful than those in RDR and featured people camping, young NPC drinking and dancing around campfires, people riding dirt bikes and jumping over logs, streams, etc. The water effects, forna, plants, trees all looked beautiful.

2: The shooting mechanics have been greatly improved with animations for diving, climbing, rolling and crawling all added for better realism. The re-loading animations for new ammo also look cooler, less static.

3: There is much more climbable elements in the world such as ladders, overhand climbing, etc.

4: There are animals in the game from dogs to cattle but at this time it is not confirmed if you will be able to harm the animals. Rockstar were able to get away with it in RDR as it was a true depiction of the world in which the game was set. Allowing dogs/cattle to die in a game sent in current times may cause headaches with PETA. Its unclear if Rockstar were joking here.

5: There are planes to pilot and they can be crashed into buildings if you choose to do so….

6: Rockstar have included many, many more interior locations such as a shopping mall, college campus, police station, a huge hospital and there is also a vast underground sewer network which one mission later in the game involves a jet ski chase that culminates in a Fugitive-esque waterfall jump ( there are nods to the ridiculous but awesome Ballad Of Gay Tony missions)

7: The city is full of NPCs jogging, weight-lifting, hitting on women, being chased on foot by cops, shopping, washing cars, fixing fences, moving home, filling up their cars, etc.

REAL JUICY INFO:

1: Cars can be upgraded/repaired and it has been considered to have a car have fuel forcing the player to fill her up.

2: The dating aspect of the game is gone. You still have a cell-phone but only people you will meet in the game will call you to ask you to do a mission or to ask you to do something else before the mission.

3: Weapons include the usual arsenal you’d aspect but the flamethrowers, remote mines, laxer trip mines and claymores are included. It is possible now to pick up random objects in a street/buidling to use as a weapon. There is also a museam where it is possible to steal old age swords, axes, etc.

4: it is possible to rupture a fuel line and if you shot at the trail of gasoline it will lead straight back to the car blowing it up.

5: mini games such as bowling, darts, etc have all gone. You can play basketball, weight train, arm wrestle, gamble and cage fight, enter triatholons, water races, cannoing, ab-saling, rock climbing, base jumping, ski diving. More to be confirmed.

6: Character customisation is back but only in terms of clothing, body weight, etc. The player you start off which, much like CJ, can’t be altered by race, age, height, etc.

7: Rockstar said burglary missions may return but only as part of missions and not on neigbourhood houses.

8: No children NPC at all. Ever.

9: There is now an ability to grab people and use as sheilds or in “hostage” situations.

10: The cops are much, much, much more realistic. If you kill somebody when you know there are no cops around you will not run the risk of a one star as often as you would in GTA4. The cops will use smoke and tear gas, dogs, riot gear and rams to knock down the doors of buildings you are hiding in.

11: You can enter some buildings and lock doors, push objects in the way to barricade.

12: You become better at things as the game progresses. If you only ride motorbikes then you will increase your skills, same as individual weapons.

13: Certain weapons can be customisable and some even home-made.

14: One mission involves breaking out a very familiar GTA icon from a previous game…

15: Torrential rain fall and sunshine and even tremors will appear in the game.

Concerns

While a lot of these leaks simply remind us of the game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, I look forward to seeing what the game will look like with a PS3 engine. The potential of bring San Andreas back on great graphics makes this a promising game, yet that does not mean that I don’t have any reservations about it.

One thing that stuck out to me in these leaks is the claim that the character is black. Looking in the preview, the character who we see driving in the car is clearly white, however that could merely be a screen capture, so I won’t be totally shocked if the protagonist is black.

Another thing that bothers me is the claim that they are bringing back the skill leveling system. While the concept was cool back in San Andreas, it was mostly useless in my opinion. While it gave the game a new dynamic, it didn’t truly effect game play, which is why I believed they scrapped it in Grand Theft Auto IV.

My final concern, and possibly largest one, is the fact that by the looks of it, GTA is attempting to step back into the fun game that it used to be, rather than continuing with the rich, gritty criminal story that Niko Bellic’s tale made it into. While I love San Andreas, nothing stops me from ordering it online and playing it. I don’t want old, I want new. Niko’s heart wrenching life brought a breath of fresh air to Grand Theft Auto, leaving the ‘fun/silly’ mantle to be taken over by Saints Row. If Grand Theft Auto backtracks, it will find itself in a competition with Saints Row in terms of delivering entertainment- a competition that San Andreas has an advantage in.

Even with these concerns, the leaks are appealing, and encourage me to buy the new game, just to see what it’s like. Did it do the same for you?

I hope that you enjoyed this article; feel free to leave comments of your thoughts below and remember to like the post, follow the blog and our twitter (@TheNerdNexus) for further updates. And remember to Like us on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/TheNerdNexus)

With August right around the corner, THQ‘s Marketing Team decided to throw fans of the up and coming game title, Darksiders, a bone. This bone consists of a new trailer and a set of screen shots. I always found Darksiders II to be a promising title, as the franchise already laid out a successful foundation with its predecessor, “Wrath of War”. With a predecessor already in place, the staff of THQ had less to worry about in regards to story, which led to more time working on game mechanics.

For those of you who didn’t read the original article, click here– for those of you that did, I believe you will find this trailer to be quite the treat as it reveals not only completely new faces, but also the return of familiar ones.

The Story

While we know a little bit about the story, I believe that the THQ team has been holding a great deal of info from the fans. I mean, for gamers that played ‘Wrath of War’, I am sure many questions about what goes on between the prologue and the actual game are ripe in your minds. It is in mine. What happens to the humans? What is it like for Death to fight Heaven and Hell when the Apocalypse is still going strong? How did Sammael get imprisoned? When did the Destroyer start running the show?

While I am sure some gamers went through the first game without giving these subtle story details any thought, I am just as sure that many gamers are as curious as I am about the circumstances that made the world what it was in War’s mission.

In the new trailer we see Sammael and Uriel for brief moments, leading us to believe that they do in fact make appearances, which presents the potential of closing holes in the story. We even catch a glimpse of War in the trailers, or at least a specter of him, similar to the shadow War that gamers fight in Eden in the first game.

With the lore already stated for the game, developers had more time to work on the ‘here and now’ aspect of the game’s story, which gives it a more in depth feel, while also satisfying the over all arch.

Game Mechanics

I know that in my previous article I touched on the looting and leveling tree aspects of the game, however there is one aspect that I failed to cover, and that is with specifics to the looting system and weapons. If you watch the trailer below you will see that players gain access to what is known as a possessed weapon.

The inclusion of the possessed weapon feature reminds me of the atrocious game ‘Two Worlds‘ -which had an even worse sequel- which allowed for a similar weapon stacking feature, allowing for a weapon to grow more powerful when fed ‘lesser’ or ‘equal’ weapons. I believe the inclusion of this feature will give Darksiders II an edge in regards to gameplay originality, and allow for the idea of weapon stacking to go further. This, along with the loot system, and skill tree makes me down right giddy to get my hands on the sequel of War’s adventure and test it out. Will these new features help or hinder the game? We can only wait and see.

Anyway, while this trailer teases us, we get a full taste of the main course in less than a month. Are you ready for it?\

Check out Gamerant’s Article on the trailer and screenshots here: http://gamerant.com/darksiders-2-trailer-screenshots-death-brian-160826/

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I hope that you enjoyed this article; feel free to leave comments of your thoughts below and remember to like the post, follow the blog and our twitter (@TheNerdNexus) for further updates.

If there is one thing that Halo does well outside of the realm of gaming, it is marketing through their live action trailers. The makers love teasing fans with clips of what clearly has the potential of a movie worthy feature. With that being said, fans have a lot to look forward to in Halo’s new live-action web series ‘Forward onto Dawn’, which is meant to lead into the newest installment of the Halo series, Halo 4.

Look below for trailer

The Story

Now, I am sure there may be one or two readers who have no idea where Halo 3‘s story left off, but most of you readers will be wondering how Forward onto Dawn leads into Halo 4 since Master Chief should be floating in a derelict ship somewhere. The story of FoD takes place thirty years prior the events of Halo Combat evolved (wow, Master Chief is like Chuck Norris, an old BOSS).

Rather than following Master Chief, this series will follow the story of a young cadet by the name of Thomas Lasky (Tom Green), and his experience in Corbula Academy, a military school for the higher end of military life. This school trains students like Lasky in fighting rebel forces (known as the Insurrectionists), the major problem of the galaxy which is the reason the Spartan Program was created. While Lasky has clear potential to be a leader, he lacks the military mentality, making the Academy an unpleasant experience for him. However, just before Lasky could leave, the academy came under attack (judging by the scene with the phantom in the puddle, I believe it is safe to assume that it is the Covenant).

Forced to fight for his life, rather than for a simulation, Lasky straightens up and accepts his role as a leader as he and his class mates are pushed to their limits in order to survive the grave new threat. But they are not alone, and will be joined by a familiar face; the golden visor on a green mjolnir helmet is common among spartans, but the 117 imprinted on his breast plate tells us that this is more than just your average Spartan.

With such potential epicness, most fan boys are gripping their seats in anticipation for the show, which is scheduled to be released on October 5th of this year.

All of this information leads us back to my opening sentence. The Story of Halo 4 Begins at Dawn. But how? As the live action series takes place 30 years before the first Halo game, how much of it can really link up to the story of a galaxy that has changed so drastically? It is safe to assume we will probably see cameos, but to what degree will these characters be integrated into Halo 4’s story? There is only one way to find out. Look out for Forward onto Dawn on Machinima Prime and Halo Waypoint on 10.5.12.